


Illusive Realities

by litrumi



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Drama, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, Gay, M/M, Minor Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito, Romance, Teen Romance, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 16:50:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13908204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/litrumi/pseuds/litrumi
Summary: A childhood friendship brings about the closest connection between two people that anyone can have. Sometimes, it can even make two people fall in love. But what if you were the third wheel interjecting between the connections? What does this mean for you? And for them?Shuichi Saihara has a new experience ahead of him…





	1. Chapter 1

-Prologue-

The winds of the new day howl.  
The leaves of the tall trees rustle and create a moving shadow along the pathway.  
I walk on for what feels like an endless road, but eventually, the light shines bright before me.  
I look up and gaze upon the destination.

Hopes Peak Academy.  
A school that harbors and revitalizes many talented students that have gone on to make the world a better place. And here I, Shuichi Saihara, stand before the massive building. Gazing upon all that this large piece of architecture overlooked.  
... I'm a new student. Chosen to be here by what one can only define as "fate."

"Why was I picked of all people?!"  
My worried mind panics. I don't know the first thing about what life is like here! Am I going to be an outcast? How am I going to possibly fit in? I'm not even fit to be called an Ultimate! My backstory is going to be so much more miniscule compared to everyone else here. I just know it!

Whilst my inner appearance was nothing more than a jumbled mess of madness, my outer appearance merely sighs and tenses up just a little. I'd have to go in there eventually... like it or not. I take a deep breath and try to prepare myself. As soon as I exhaled and wore a calm yet serious expression, I made my way up to the front door to the building and opened it. The sight...

Was actually pretty welcoming. The halls were calm. Students were spread around in the halls. Most talking to others, possibly friends that just know each other. Some other students either sat alone reading, writing, or just plain listening to music. And sure, while everything did seem all fine and dandy... I still struggled internally. 

C'mon Shuichi! Just act natural!  
... It doesn't quite help that I'm sweating just a little as I make my way through the hall, trying to walk to the classroom assigned to me back during orientation day. I kept my head held low, trying not to make a lot of eye contact as I finally make it to the classroom. At first, I was quite hesitant. This was it. The class I would be spending an entire year in at this prestigious academy. Even with such a heavy thought weighing down on my shoulders, I knew I needed to ease up a little. It’s going to be just fine. As long as I told myself that everything is going to be alright…  
I open the door and just peek into the room slowly... 

It seems as though a few other students are actually here already, just waiting inside for class to start. I look at the watch on my wrist just to make sure I wasn't losing my mind, as well as my track of time. Good. Class hadn't started yet. It surely will in about 15 minutes, maybe.  
The teacher seemed busy, so I just invited myself in quietly and went to find a seat. A seat in the very back seems quite fitting for someone like me. I made my way and sat down once arriving at a seat as far away from the front of the classroom as possible. I pay almost no attention to the other students, just trying to occupy myself as I didn't really feel all too up to getting into a conversation with anyone. I take out a mystery novel that I was in the middle of reading and begin to get immersed in the story. ...For at least two minutes.

"Hey!"  
A boisterous voice speaks to me.  
I slightly flinch, getting pulled out of the world of the story and just feeling hesitant.  
"Huh?"  
I sound, just peeking up from behind my book to see who the voice belonged to.  
There, before me, stood a tall, purple haired and bright boy, wearing a large and flowing purple jacket. He was smiling with a big grin on his face.  
"Hellooooo? Can you hear me?"  
The boy just waves, making eye contact with me now.  
“Y- Yeah. I can hear you.”  
I reply.  
The boy lets out a sigh of relief before smiling at me again.  
“Phew! For a minute there, I thought I was trying to speak to a deaf person. That would’ve been awkward!”  
He laughs, rubbing the back of his head.  
I put down my novel and find myself staring at him, mostly confused as I wasn’t sure what to make of the situation.  
“Um…”  
I try to find the right words to say in this seemingly awkward situation for myself, but he quickly disregards my confusion by carrying on the conversation himself.  
“So, what’cha reading?”  
He asks, taking a look at the novel.  
“It’s… a mystery novel.”  
I quietly answer, switching my looks between this guy and my book so that this wasn’t a completely awkward situation for me.  
“Huh. That’s cool.”  
He replies. A brief and uncomfortable silence begins to loom over us since the conversation seemed to have come to a halt. It didn’t take long for him to pick it back up however.  
“Anyway, looks like we’re gonna be classmates! So it’ll be better on both of us to get introductions outta the way now.”  
He says, trying to break the silence between us. He then stands up tall with his back straightened out, posing in a heroic way.  
“I’m Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars! Even crying children adore the Ultimate Astronaut!”  
He announces quite loudly. I’m almost certain I’m not the only one who heard him just now. I’m practically speechless. Not particularly because I was amazed, but mostly because I didn’t know how to react to someone so emphatic.  
“What do you think? I’m an astronaut! Pretty cool, right?”  
He waits for me to say something.  
“You’re really an astronaut?”  
I ask, just out of curiosity from the fact that he looked to be around my age.  
“Well, I’m still just a trainee, but I did pass the exam with flying colors!”  
He explains, smiling.  
“Isn’t that cool?”  
He continues, still wishing to be praised I suppose.  
“I- Um…”  
I stall, still processing what went on.  
“Yeah. That’s kind of amazing, actually…”  
I say, shyly smiling back, only trying to appease him. It was true that passing an exam like that at his age was pretty remarkable, so complimenting him was the least I could do. This in turn however makes him smile even wider. Honestly, just from looking at him at first glance, it was like a light was radiating off of this guy just from how much of a positive presence he had. And that light only seemed to get brighter after what I said.  
“Great! I knew you’d be amazed! There’s no way anyone wouldn’t be!”  
He smiles, raising a fist halfway into the air.  
I couldn’t help but feel a small smile form on my own face. There was just something about his positive attitude that was kind of contagious. It even made me sort of forget that I was nervous about today to begin with.  
“Well?”  
He starts.  
“Well what?”  
I ask, dumbfounded.  
“Aren’t you gonna introduce yourself?”  
He mentions, looking eager to hear what I have to say.  
“O- Oh, right.”  
I nearly forgot, to be honest…  
“I’m Shuichi Saihara. They call me the Ultimate Detective, but I don’t really feel like I should be called that personally.”  
I introduce myself.  
Kaito whistles, giving me his full attention.  
“Ultimate Detective huh? Impressive!”  
He says, putting a hand on his hip.  
“But why do you think you shouldn’t be called that? People have gotta be calling you an Ultimate for a reason, ya know?”  
He asks, trying to understand what I meant.  
“It’s… nothing worth mentioning.”  
I try to sway the conversation away from the topic.  
“Well if it makes you doubt yourself as an Ultimate, then it’s definitely something important!”  
He looks me in the eyes again.  
“You need to have more confidence in yourself! You’re not here to let your talent die, so make the most of it, and let it shine!”  
He shouts solely to me, trying to instill confidence within me.  
“I understand, but it’s a little difficult to kind of just… brush past it all.”  
I sigh, still feeling burdened by the reason behind my title.  
“You should find someone you can talk to. Like me! I’m always trying to lend a hand to those in need!”  
He says, looking confident in his own self. The kind of confidence he has makes me almost envious.  
“But… if you don’t feel like talking about it right now, then I won’t try to pry it out of you.”  
He taps on my desk, looking away for a short while.  
“I’m still gonna bother you though!”  
He says, determined.  
“So you can learn to trust me. Okay, Shuichi?”  
He winks, giving me a thumbs up. I begin to wonder why he’s trying to get to know me, but I figure that I could definitely use a friend or two around here. Hearing what he said, I guess Kaito would be a good friend to have.  
I smile, laughing softly.  
“Alright, Kaito.”  
I say.  
“Let’s have a good school year!”  
Kaito looks at me, smiling after what I just said.  
“Yeah! That’s the spirit, bro!”  
He ruffles my hair a bit. We both share a good laugh, before he looks at me, telling me that he’s going to go back to his seat. I smile at him and tell him to take care. He waves to me and heads back. That was when I caught sight of a girl that was staring at me. She averted her gaze away from me when Kaito left, so I didn’t really pay her too much attention.  
I sink back into my seat, getting back into my novel. I try to focus on the book, but I find myself thinking about how this year will go. Kaito seems like the kind of friend that’s always upbeat and trying to make everyone else around him smile too… Maybe I won’t have as bad of a school experience as I thought I would. And maybe… I’ll have Kaito to thank for that.  
Only one way to find out. But I think… I feel almost hopeful.

The day goes on when the bell rings. Class finally starts and the teacher welcomes us to the school. They begin to drone on and on about the foundation of the academy, Hopes Peak’s history, as well as explaining the many rooms and areas of the building and all that surround us. I made sure I paid attention so that I wouldn’t be completely lost if the time ever came when I needed to roam around the area, but I could see on a lot of people’s faces that some were tired and bored, or were too immersed in their own thoughts.  
The teacher continues to ramble on and face away from us, looking to be practically neglectful of us that were there since they almost seemed to never look any of us in the eye. I decide to look around the room, beginning to get bored myself, when I happen to catch Kaito with his body turned, quietly whispering and smiling to the girl sitting behind him. This girl wore a red uniform and a skirt. A particular distinct part of her appearance was her two long ponytails. Regardless, once I looked in Kaito’s direction, it didn’t take too long for him to see that I was looking at him. His eyes shifted towards my direction, which broke off the conversation the two were having. He smiles at me and waves, letting me know that he sees me. I smile just a bit and wave back. The girl who was looking at Kaito then only slightly turned her head towards my direction to look at me as well. I happen to catch her gaze while Kaito still smiled and waved. She only gave me a side glance for but a second, with no distinctive expression on her face before she turned away and paid me no more mind. She then spoke to Kaito, causing him to look at her again and smile, and the two continued their conversation.  
That was a little awkward… It kind of seemed like that girl just disregarded my existence. I guess that’s fine… We don’t really know each other anyway, so of course two strangers wouldn’t pay each other any attention. 

Eventually the bell rang, cutting off the teacher’s speech. Everyone was now dismissed to have lunch, so a lot of people and noise started bustling to get out of the classroom to eat. I was still just putting a couple of things away when a certain someone approached my desk.  
“Hey, c’mon!”  
Kaito starts.  
“We’re gonna miss all the good stuff if you don’t hurry up!”  
He smiles and rubs the back of his neck.  
“Sorry.”  
I say, finally putting the last of my school materials away and standing up from my seat.  
“I’m ready.”  
I smile. We both begin to walk out of the classroom and go towards the cafeteria.  
“To be honest, I didn’t think we’d be eating lunch together.”  
I mention, bringing it up because I actually didn’t expect it.  
“Well why wouldn’t we?”  
He asks.  
“We’re friends now, aren’t we?”  
He looks at me while we’re walking and has a small grin on his face. He may have decided that himself, but I could agree to that as well.  
“Yeah. That’s true.”  
I grin back.  
“So, did you listen in on that speech the teacher was giving?”  
I ask, thinking about it myself.  
“It was kinda boring, but I think I got the gist of it.”  
He replies.  
“They’ve got loads of classrooms and certain areas of the school dedicated to helping Ultimates in their particular field. I kind of think that’s pretty cool. What do you think?”  
I wonder to myself, awaiting his response.  
“To me it sounds pretty cool, yeah.”  
He says.  
“I’ll be interested to see how the school plans to help me out. I’m already ready and prepared though! I’m *the* Kaito Momota after all!”  
He shouts, enthusiastically. I guess Kaito doesn’t just use his name to identify himself, but to use it as a definition as well.  
I merely smile a bit and giggle. We finally make it to the cafeteria and grab a tray of the different selections they had available. Once we were done picking out food, I look around the cafeteria for a place that we can sit.  
“Where do you want to sit, Kaito?”  
I ask.  
“I already know where, but I can’t seem to find… Oh! Over there!”  
Kaito says, pointing to a table where the girl that sat behind him earlier was.  
“O- Oh. Do you think that’ll be okay with her?”  
I ask, feeling just a little nervous.  
“Of course it is. C’mon! Let’s go!”  
He tells me before walking over to the table.  
I felt a little hesitant, but I followed in his footsteps because I didn’t really have anything else to do at this point. We approach the girl who was minding her own business, and Kaito was the first to speak.  
“Hey! I was looking for you. Why’d you pick a table so far back?”  
He asks the girl, sitting down at the table. I sit down as well, not wanting to be the awkward one.  
“Why wouldn’t I? Everything’s so noisy in here, and this is the only place I could find with the lowest volume.”  
She sighs.  
“Whatever.”  
Kaito replies.  
“Anyways, I want you to meet someone!”  
Kaito smiles before placing a hand on my shoulder.  
“This here is Shuichi! He’s the Ultimate Detective.”  
He looks at me, waiting for me to respond.  
“Y- Yes. I’m Shuichi Saihara. It’s nice to meet you.”  
I smile a bit, trying to get in a good first impression.  
“…Yeah, likewise.”  
She says, looking at me blankly. I try and keep my smile, despite feeling a little put down by her attitude.  
“And you are?”  
I ask.  
“Maki Harukawa. …The Ultimate Child Caregiver.”  
She introduces herself in a strange way.  
“Yup!”  
Kaito grins.  
“This is Maki Roll! She’s pretty cool, right?”  
He smiles brightly, laughing softly. I don’t even really get it, but I just smile nervously to him to keep up with the upbeat atmosphere he’s letting on.  
"...Don't listen to that idiot. It's Maki Harukawa. I never agreed to some kind of stupid pet name. Not once in our entire time as childhood friends."  
She sighs, looking to be slightly irritated. Oh. They’re childhood friends? That certainly… explains some things, but granted not everything.  
“Hey! Don’t call me an idiot!”  
He shouts, angrily.  
“And what do you mean you never agreed on the name?! You never once said that you hated it!”  
He says.  
“I have. At least a million times. This is only adding more to those times. And despite saying this again, you’re going to forget that I opposed to that stupid name, aren’t you?”  
She whispers under her breath.  
“Anyway, Shuichi, she’s right. Maki Roll and I have been childhood friends for ages!”  
He smiles. Looks like she called it.  
“Oh, wow. You two must know a lot about each other then.”  
I say, trying my best to contribute to the conversation.  
“Sort of, I guess.”  
Kaito nonchalantly replies.  
“But now that we’ve all been introduced to each other, let’s just eat already. I’m starving here!”  
He sounds boisterously, beginning to scarf down his lunch. We all began to enjoy our lunch time. Soon the bell rang and we went back to class. Not much else really happened, and before I knew it, the first day of school came to an end.

The bell tolled throughout the academy, signaling that we were allowed to leave.  
As I begin to pack up my stuff, Kaito approached me with Maki by his side.  
“C’moooooon, man.”  
He whines, dragging on the word.  
“How slow are you? Let’s go home!”  
He rubs the back of his head. I didn’t even really know they were waiting on me.  
“Alright. Just a second.”  
I reply, just about done putting my things away. Once I get up from my seat, we all begin to walk out of the classroom and the building, going towards the entrance of the school. We talked along the way, discussing things about the school and how today went. Once at the entrance however, Maki turns to us.  
“I gotta go now. I live in that direction.”  
She points towards the direction opposite of where we were headed.  
“Bye.”  
She says abruptly, already heading off.  
“See ya, Maki Roll!”  
Kaito says his farewell to her, smiling.  
“Looks like we both live somewhere in the same direction. Pretty cool coincidence, right Shuichi?”  
He looks at me, still keeping the grin on his face.  
“Y- Yeah, I suppose so.”  
I softly chuckle.  
The two of us began our trek home, walking alongside each other and having casual, friendly banter.

"...And that's what I think of that franchise!"  
Kaito finishes, laughing about the discussion.  
"Well I can't say I was all too interested in it myself, but I have gone to see a few of the movies. I do know the struggle of being spoiled of a lot of the key points before going to see it myself. I had no idea they would die in that movie."  
I say.  
"Right?! That's what I'm saying! Buncha snot nosed brat classmates of mine telling everybody what happens before I went to see it. I can't even begin to tell you how much I wanted to slug them right then and there. Hell, I still feel that way and it's been a year!"  
Kaito grumbles.  
I laugh at his irritation over a simple movie, but I could empathize with him to a degree.  
I feel like Kaito and I grew closer today...  
We walk on and on for some time now, nearly getting home. At least to mine, that is.  
"So, I guess she was okay with us sitting at her table after all."  
I make light conversation to pass the remaining time.  
"Huh? Yeah. I told her to go on ahead and save us a seat before I came to get ya. That way all three of us could spend some time together!"  
Kaito explains, a small grin ever apparent on his face.

“So how long have you two been childhood friends?”  
I decide to question.  
“Let’s see…”  
Kaito begins to count on his fingers.  
“We met when we were eight, and now we’re sixteen… uh, about eight years, I think.”  
He answers.  
“Really? That’s kind of impressive that you both have been by each other’s sides for so long.”  
I reply.  
“Yup. We’ve been friends for a while now! We’ve shared a lot of good times for sure.”  
He smiles.  
“You sure have a lot ahead of you, heh.”  
I softly chuckle.  
“It’s only gonna keep getting better and better! My life is never boring. Besides, you’re my friend now too, so that means the experiences are only gonna be even more amazing from here on out!”  
He puts an arm around me and laughs. I become so influenced by his happy attitude that it makes even someone like me smile and laugh with him.  
"You'll even wish I was in your life sooner. That's just how amazing I am!"  
Kaito says, ruffling my hair again.  
"Heh. Alright Kaito... I believe you."  
I laugh, smiling at him.  
"You better!"  
He says, returning the same happy feelings.  
After a while, we finally made it to my house. With this, I turn to face Kaito.  
"Alright. My stop's here. I'll see you tomorrow at school, right?"  
I ask.  
"Of course! You can count on me!"  
He grins to me, winking and giving me a thumbs up.  
"See ya later!"  
He says, continuing to walk his own way.  
"See ya!"  
I reply, bidding him a farewell. I let out a sigh of relief. Today wasn't bad after all...  
I used to think that things would never change for me. Same old routine. Same old shyness. Same old boring school life...  
Things just feel like they're finally about to change for me.

...And change they will.


	2. Chapter 2

Beep. Beep. Beep. Click.

I tap on the snooze button to my alarm, very groggily.  
“Ngh…”  
I groan a bit as I start to wake up. I sit up in my bed and rub my tired eyes. I can hear birds chirping outside my bedroom window along with the very soft and soothing sounds of tree leaves rustling.  
“What time is it again…?”  
I say to myself before looking at the clock. It was just about 7:00 in the morning.  
“Looks like it’s time to get ready.”  
I sigh, slowly leaving my soft and peaceful sanctuary known as my bed. I perform my daily routine, such as taking care of my hygiene, showering, getting dressed, and fixing my hair. I look at the one big strand of hair that always refuses to go down. I know that I forgot to bring my hat yesterday, so everyone has definitely seen it, but…  
“I don’t think anyone will care.”  
I say, putting on my favorite hat to cover it up. No one will notice. It’s fine. I just wish I had it on sooner so that no one saw how weird my hair is.  
I go back to my room to finish up the last of my school preparations. I think to myself if I should eat, but I decided I wouldn’t bother. I didn’t need breakfast today.  
I look at the clock again and it appears to be 8:00 AM now. It’s better to start going to school now than waste some time making something to eat. No way was I going to pull an “eat bread while running” cliché.  
I step out the door of my humble abode and see someone I didn’t even expect to be here.

“Mornin’!”  
The astronaut-in-training says, smiling and waiting on my front door steps.  
“Oh! Kaito… Good morning.”  
I say, slightly surprised that he showed up in front of my home.  
“What are you doing here?”  
I ask, curious as to why he’s here.  
“What do you mean? We’re walking to school together. Duh!”  
He says bluntly.  
“Is your head on right?”  
He asks, walking up to me and lightly poking my forehead.  
“Huh? What kind of question is that?”  
I then gently grab the wrist of the hand poking me to get him to stop.  
“You just asked a dumb question, that’s all.”  
He says, looking off to the side with a hand on his hips.  
“Was it really? I mean, we never even talked about going together.”  
I mention. He then only sighs.  
“I don’t need to ask permission.”  
He says, rubbing the back of his head.  
“We’re friends, aren’t we?”  
He looks me in the eyes when he asks, awaiting my answer.  
“W- Well, yeah. I guess so.”  
I say, slightly hesitant to the fact that we only just met yesterday.  
“What’s with the half-assed answer?”  
He sighs yet again, slight irritation clear in his tone.  
“I already think we’re friends, so that means we are!”  
His expression is serious as he speaks to me.  
“You need to pick up on that already. Be more confident with your answers too! A man always knows what he wants, and he’ll always strive to get it!”  
He shouts only a little loudly. I could tell he was trying to encourage me, yet I just wasn’t sure what to make of it.  
“I already know I’m going to be the best damn astronaut this world has ever seen. Don’t you believe that you’re going to become the best detective?”  
He stares at me, eager to hear what I have to say. I feel a little nervous, knowing fully well that what I say will stir the conversation in a direction Kaito wouldn’t like.  
“I don’t… really see myself being such a great detective. E- Even if I did, that surely would take a lot of planning and training.”  
I muster the courage to admit.  
“I kind of wish I did have your confidence though… You must already have a lot of plans and things to-“  
“Enough already!”  
He grunts, cutting me off and sounding irritated.  
“Kaito Momota doesn’t make plans! The universe is vast with endless possibilities, Shuichi!”  
His gaze is focused squarely on me.  
“How can you even say that you don’t believe in yourself? It’s starting to piss me off, ya know.”  
He crosses his arms.  
“Can’t you even get how the universe works?”  
He asks. I look at the ground, uncertain of how to answer or what even was the right answer.  
“I don’t really get it, Kaito…”

That was all I could say on the matter. This was such a new concept for someone like me. I never knew how to be confident or believe in myself. I never was taught how to stay strong and to not let people’s words hurt me. I was a hopeless, lost cause…  
But then, he tilted my head up to look at him.

“It’s not that hard, Shuichi.”  
He tells me. Our eyes meet and never leave each other.  
“Do I have to spell it out for you?”  
He begins.  
“Sure, there’s already a path laid out for me to explore…”  
He explains.  
“But I can expand it by branching it out to new things and people. Like you! That’s how I make it my own, special path!”  
He smiles brightly.  
“It’s a little reckless, but if I make sure to follow my heart and spirit, then I’ll achieve all of my goals in life. It’s that simple!”  
“So I’m gonna follow my own path. That’s the right one!”  
He grins, letting go of me and giving another thumbs up.

I still found myself at a loss for words, staring at this courageous and brave guy who wasn’t afraid to do what he wanted. His words did strike true however. No matter how reckless he was, he was still living a happy life. One he was proud of. I could already tell he was living life to its fullest.  
There’s that enthusiasm I just envy…

I felt a small smile begin to form on my face.

“You’re right, Kaito.”  
I reply.  
“That sounds like a great path.”  
I smile back just a little.  
He then places a hand on my head. I could feel the warmth of it just a bit through my hat. He begins to gently rub the top of my head and smile at me.  
“Of course it is, bro.”  
He begins.  
“You should start following your own. Don’t let anyone get in the way of your dreams.”  
He says.  
“I already believe you can do it.”  
He continues his actions, just rubbing my head. I stay silent, not really sure what to say or do, yet… I’m getting somewhat lost in the feeling of his hand. I can also see him looking me directly in the eyes with a grin on his face and I’m… unsure what to do right now. It was like the world fell silent and this was the only thing happening right now.

Nothing else…

After but a mere moment, he stands up straight and takes his hand off.  
“Welp.”  
He says.  
“Time to get to school. C’mon Shuichi.”  
He already turns and walks off towards Hopes Peak.  
It takes me a couple seconds, but I snap back to reality.  
“W- Wait up, Kaito!”  
I say, trying to catch up with him.

About ten minutes later of walking alongside him, we finally make it back onto the school grounds. We stood in front of the building as students bustled around not only inside the academy, but outside and doing their own things.

“Maki Roll should be around here somewhere.”  
Kaito says as he begins to examine the area. I join him by taking a look around too.  
Just somewhere off into the distance I could see a girl all by herself, sitting under a lone cherry blossom tree.  
“Oh. I think I see her, Kaito.”  
I say, getting his attention.  
“She’s over there.”  
I then point off to the direction she is in and Kaito looks over as well.  
“Yup! That’s her. I’d recognize Maki Roll anywhere. C’mon!”  
He says, already going over to her by himself. I walk behind him, following at a slightly slower pace.

“Maki Roll!”  
Kaito boisterously says, smiling at her.  
“Gimme a hug!”  
He opens his arms, waiting for a hug from her, but she only looks up at him from where she is sitting. A blank expression with almost no emotion except for one of “I don’t care” is plastered on her face.  
“No way.”  
She bluntly says. Kaito just laughs for some reason.  
“Don’t be that way! You don’t gotta hold yourself back. I know you want to hug me!”  
He grins.  
“I really don’t. Quit acting like an idiot.”  
She just glares at him. I could definitely tell that she doesn’t want a hug, yet Kaito is pretty oblivious to her behavior.  
“Alright then.”  
He giggles.  
“You can have it whenever you’re feeling confident enough to ask!”  
Kaito then sits down under the tree next to her. He looks at me, smiling, and pats the ground next to him as well. I sit down next to him and try to join in.  
“Good morning, Maki.”  
I smile a bit to her.  
“…”  
Silence looms over as she didn’t respond to my greeting yet stared at me blankly. The tension soon felt like it visibly grew thick enough to cut with a knife. She then looks over to Kaito.  
“So what’s Shuichi doing here?”  
It was like she dropped a bomb.  
“Um…”  
I tense up just a little, unsure how to respond.  
“Oh. We walked here together.”  
Kaito replies.  
“Yeah. Kaito ended up waiting by my house so we could both get here together.”  
I chuckle nervously. She however didn’t look amused. Not one bit.  
Maki gave me nothing more than a side glare, rather than a glance this time.  
“You guys just met. In fact, I thought it was only a one-time fling.”  
She puts it out there.  
“Well, he’s one of our friends now. So, it’s fine.”  
Kaito smiles. She exchanges glances between Kaito and I before looking only at Kaito again.  
“… When did I agree to that?”

I start to feel sort of uncomfortable now, thanks to her responses and all. I shift just a bit in my sitting position and look down at the ground, not really sure what to do.

“It was sort of a given. I mean, I think he’s a cool dude.”  
Kaito just nonchalantly replies.  
“And if he’s my friend, then he’s yours too, you know.”  
Kaito tried to reason with her, but I could see it as plain as day on her face that she didn’t agree.  
“That’s not really how it works, but fine. I don’t really care.”  
She sighs, beginning to occupy herself with her phone. 

I continue to stare at the ground, starting not to feel so welcome after all. I let my hat cover my eyes to help me not really look at either of them. I then feel someone poke my shoulder.  
“You doing alright, bro?”  
He asks me. I look at him slightly, huddling to myself mostly.  
“You don’t gotta worry about anything. That’s just Maki Roll’s way of trusting people. But she trusts you, I know it!”  
He says, trying to cheer me up.  
“I can promise she doesn’t hate you or anything. She never told me that on the phone last night, and we always tell each other basically everything. So just believe in that!”  
He whispers to me and smiles to try to give me some hope.  
Somehow… I trust in Kaito’s words, but there’s still just a bit of doubt in my mind.

Did I already make an enemy?

The day goes on without a hitch. The first half of the class wasn't too bad, and we all ate lunch together. Maki was pretty silent for most of the time as we ate and conversed, Kaito was as lively and joyful as ever, and I was doing my best to connect with them. Once the second, and final, half of class rolled around, the teacher needed to leave the room for about 10 minutes or so to make copies of our worksheets. We were told to sit and behave without making a fuss, but that can't reign true forever in a classroom full of teenagers. Everyone started hanging out with their friends in the class, and I of course decided to hang out with Kaito and Maki.

"Man, the teach is givin' us a lot of homework today."  
Kaito sighs.  
"It could be worse."  
I say.  
"It's only five pages of math, world history, and language composition each. Even an idiot like you could do it."  
Maki retorts, directing her statement at Kaito.  
"Shut up! 'Course I can do it! I don't need to be taking this crap from you!"  
Kaito angrily huffs. Shortly after, Kaito's stomach makes a bit of noise and he began to clutch his own stomach.  
"Phew... speaking of, I gotta use the restroom. Drank a bit too much water back at lunch."  
He laughs, sweating a bit.  
"You probably should've asked the teacher while they were still here."  
I mention.  
"Like I knew it was all gonna go right through me."  
Kaito grumbles, getting up from his seat.  
"I'll be back in a few."  
He smiles to us and heads out of the classroom door to go to the restroom.

After watching him leave, I turn back to Maki. She was just writing in her notebook. I gave it a couple of seconds for her to look back at me, but she never gave me a single glance. She just continued on with her scribbling. It started to feel really awkward. Despite the room being filled with the noise of chattering students, the silence between us was pretty off putting.

"So... um."  
I smile, trying to lighten up the weird, silent atmosphere between the two of us.  
"You said that you're the ultimate child caregiver, correct?"  
"Yeah."  
Was her only blunt, one word response. She never took her eyes off of her notebook. I could feel a bit of sweat on my face as that same awkward silence loomed over once more. I knew that I had to keep trying to talk to her though. I just wanted to create a bond of friendship.

"Do you like taking care of children?"  
I ask her.  
"Not really."  
She replies.  
"Then... why are you the-"  
"If you want to play 20 questions with someone, then go find someone else."  
She glares.  
Suddenly, the atmosphere wasn't just awkward anymore. It was sort of... scary.  
"Sorry if that was rude of me to ask. I was just hoping to get to know you better."  
I admit.  
"What good will that do you? I'm not interested in getting to know you in return."  
She says, continuing her charade of not sparing me any looks.  
"But... just yesterday it didn't seem like there was a problem. Did... I do something wrong?"  
I ask aloud, mostly pondering to myself. Yet, no matter how hard I tried to recall the entirety of yesterday, not a single thing came to mind that hinted towards a reason Maki was being this cold to me all of a sudden.  
"Why does it even matter to you? I don't really care anyway."  
She sighs, flipping the notebook's page.  
"Well... wouldn't you at least want to know the reason behind someone's spiteful behavior towards you?"  
I ask her.  
"If you go on like this caring about the way everyone thinks about you, then you'll end up nowhere. You'll became more of a nuisance to everyone around you than you already are."  
She stares me in the eyes, brows slightly furrowed.  
"So are you going to stop whining about not getting things your way, or what? I don't care about being your friend or anyone's friend. That should be easy enough to understand, right?"  
She grimaces, going back to her focused writing. Her words are almost empty of emotion. Full of negativity and feelings that sort of hit me. My mood certainly has dropped after hearing all of what she had said to me. I just look down at my desk, not making any more eye contact with her.  
"S- Sorry..."  
I apologize. Our shared silence washes over again, but this time I know not to try anymore. It was pretty clear as day she would make no attempt to tell me anything about her, or to find out anything more about me.  
After a few short minutes, Kaito comes back. He's smiling, just as high spirited as ever still.

"Alright, I'm back! You two miss me?"  
He grins, being full of himself.  
Maki and I didn't reply at first, but she stared daggers at me in secret while she was still looking at her notebook. I knew she wanted me to at least pretend things were okay so that I wasn't burdening Kaito. If her eyes spoke words, something tells me it would have been something like "Do you wanna die?" Feeling as though I had no other choice, I gave in to her demand, looking at Kaito and putting on a small, fake smile.

"Hey Kaito. Is everything okay now?"  
I ask.  
"Yup. Did you two have a good chat while I was gone?"  
He smiles at us. I knew that she still wanted me to keep up the act. If I had to guess, she'd also just act like everything was fine.  
"Y- Yeah. We did."  
I lie to Kaito.  
"Cool. What'd you guys talk about?"  
He switches his gaze between the both of us, wanting to hear an answer.  
I was very unsure of what to say. With Maki here, I couldn't possibly say the truth, but what was something I could make up?  
"Nothing important."  
Maki took initiative by giving him an answer. I didn't expect Kaito to just let it be with an answer like that, but...  
"Ah, I knew you'd say something like that, Maki Roll."  
He laughs.  
"Oh well. Just as long as you two are getting along."  
He grins, believing that there really wasn't a single problem. I knew that he didn't know, but... I was starting to feel alone in this. Was this how it was going to be between the three of us from now on? Was Maki going to give me a tough time for the rest of our life here? Kaito will never know... but that doesn't mean the pain won't continue to exist.  
All I could do was keep a happy expression on my face. Even if it meant that I was living through a lie.

After a day that felt like it had dragged on forever, school was over. Tomorrow was already going to be a weekend, and yet I, for some reason, wasn't looking forward to it.  
I walk out of the school with Kaito and Maki, who were already discussing plans for the next two days. I just put on a fake smile as I walk with them, not really contributing to the conversation whatsoever. This... wasn't anyone else's problem, so what's the point in showing it?

"Bye."  
Maki waves, before heading off in her own direction.  
"Later, Maki Roll!"  
Kaito says, smiling at her with glee.  
"Alright, bro! Time to go home and relax. I'm beat."  
He sighs in relief, stretching out his arms.  
"Y- Yeah."  
I reply, still putting up a facade with my emotional state. 

We begin our walk and he mostly makes light talk that I try to keep up with. It wasn't exactly easy acting like I was doing alright, but I pulled it off somehow. While we were walking around, we passed by some shops with glass windows that have items on display. Kaito then stopped us in our tracks for a second.

"Wooooah. Look at this!"  
Kaito exclaims to me and tries to shift my attention. I look over at what had him in awe.  
"That's a real beauty right there."  
He whistles.  
The item we were focused on was nothing more than a pair of galaxy themed rings. There was two rings in particular I knew he was talking about. The moon ring and the star ring, both colored in to look like space.  
"Man, I'm not a fan of jewelry, but even I could see myself wearing one."  
He smiles.  
"O- Oh. Really?"  
I ask.  
"I'd probably wear the moon one since it's a pretty important thing to those of us on Earth, ya know?"  
He grins.  
"I'd get the star for... Maki probably since she'd love it I bet. Women like jewelry. Whaddya think, Shuichi?"  
He says looking over at me. However, him even just bringing up her name was enough to make me feel unsettled.  
"H- Huh? O- Oh, yeah."  
I nonchalantly reply, finding myself looking at the ground. 

My expression must have been concerning or something, because I was too lost in thought to have noticed it myself.

"Hey, bro. Something bugging ya?"  
He asks me. I quickly shift my gaze back to him, only barely realizing that I must've let my emotional guard down.  
"What? N- No, I'm alright."  
I say, trying to convince him.  
"Dude, you're totally lying to me."  
He says, turning his body to give me his full attention.  
"N- No, really. I'm okay."  
I try again. But if I even bothered to listen to myself right now, I knew that I wasn't all that believable.  
"Seriously, bro? I thought you were better than this."  
Kaito sighs. I look at him to see his disappointed expression, and even I start to feel guilty about it.  
"The hell do you need to lie to me for? I hate liars..."  
His expression grew serious as he looked at me, dead pan in the eyes.  
"You shouldn't be trying to hide something from me. Kaito Momota will always find out when someone's in need! So, c'mon! Spill it!"  
He says, trying to get me to say something.  
I can't find the right words to say, especially when I feel so utterly lost in how I was really feeling.  
"I'm just... having a bit of a rough time right now."  
I say.  
"There's just someone who... sort of hates me, I guess?"  
I make the implication without trying to blow Maki's cover. Surely if Kaito knew, he'd talk to her without a doubt. Maki would definitely kill me then.  
"...Is that really it?"  
Kaito says bluntly.  
"Huh?"  
I sound, wondering if that's all the input Kaito had for me.  
"You're worrying about the stupidest thing again..."  
Kaito sighs, rubbing the back of his neck.  
"You need to get better at being confident. If you let stuff like this get to you, then how else are you gonna grow? Life's too short to let yourself worry about the unnecessary shit! So, c'mon Shuichi! Let me hear you say it!"  
Kaito exclaims confidently, with a fist in the air.  
"S- Say what, exactly?"  
I ask, confused.  
"That you're strong! You're not a man if you can't even say that!"  
He punches his fists together, putting on yet another serious expression.  
"K- Kaito... a public street does not look like the time or place to be-"  
"Shut up and say it!"  
He cuts me off mid-sentence.  
"I wanna hear that fire in your stomach!"  
He smiles brightly at me with an intense passion.  
"I- I'm... strong."  
I say weakly.  
"Louder!"  
He shouts back.  
"I'm strong."  
"Louder!"  
"I'm strong!"  
"LOUDER!!!"  
"I- I'M STRONG...!"  
I yell back at him.  
He then places a hand on my shoulder and looks right into my eyes with a pleased smile.  
"Much better, bro! Could use a bit more work, but I'm seriously proud of you!"  
He grins.  
I found myself staring at him without words. All I could really do is nod in understanding.  
We share a moment of silence in this seemingly busy town. No other sounds or presences mattered, only mine and his. 

However, Kaito was the first one to break the silence.

“You know what, Shuichi? I’ve made up my mind.”  
He says, grasping both my shoulders now and smiling at me as he looks me right in the eyes.  
“To officiate that I’m gonna help you get better, from now on you’re going to be my sidekick!”  
Kaito says boisterously, grinning.  
It takes me a while to come back to Earth, metaphorically, and I answer him.  
"H- Huh? Sidekick...?"  
I ask.  
"Yeah! Sidekick! I'm the hero, and you're my sidekick!"  
He explains happily.  
"T- That's... a little embarrassing, Kaito."  
I sigh, feeling my face grow a little warm.  
"Aw c'mon. It's not that bad! You should feel honored!"  
He says, winking and wrapping an arm around me.  
"It's decided though! No way am I ever gonna let you get out of this!"  
He grins.  
"I... really have no choice, do I?"  
I mumble.  
"Nope!"  
He laughs. He shakes me a bit in good fun, and... I find even myself beginning to smile.  
"I... appreciate it, Kaito."  
I tell him.  
"No prob! That's what us bros do!"  
He reaches to ruffle up my hair, but barely takes notice of my hat.  
"Hey. Watcha doin' wearing this thing? You should take it off."  
He says.  
"Really? Why?"  
I wonder aloud.  
"You look better with it off!"  
He says as he takes off my hat and just hands it to me.  
"The first step of being confident is just liking you for yourself. It's nice to hear a compliment every now and then, right? Well, I think you're great without your hat!"  
Kaito smiles widely.  
I look down at my hat now in my hands and... suddenly feel different about it.  
I look over to Kaito, smiling.  
"T- Thank you!"  
I say genuinely.  
He then ruffles up my hair for real and we share a good laugh...

We continue on our walk and go our separate ways to our own homes.  
We go to sleep and live with the memories that we've now created.  
This is how things are. This is how they're supposed to be.

Tomorrow... is just another day to look forward to.


End file.
